This is a generous and approachable style of Pinot Noir sure to appease a large crowd, starting with aromas of strawberry, black cherry and vanilla ice cream. The palate is joyous in those same juicy fruits but balanced by decent tannins and a chipped slate minerality.

The enticing 2022 Syrah Tarraford Vineyard, from the lower Yarra, delivers a nice mix of sweet boysenberry and mulberry aromas, tapped with layers of white pepper, fennel seed and licorice root. Ample flavor follows on the supple side, with al-dente tannins and a strong spicy undertow. Nicely weighted overall and with decent length, there is some sophistication here that will develop over the next five years.

The finely balanced 2022 Pinot Noir Sexton Vineyard offers up plump aromas of dark cherry, cherry cola and woody spice, with touches of earth and tobacco. Nicely weighted earthy tones are already well integrated and deliver satiny textures on a voluptous finish. This is delicious to drink now and will hold.

From one of the lower Giant Steps vineyards comes the fleshy 2022 Chardonnay, offering up open knit aromas of nectarine and peach skin well matched to toasty oak. Creamy textured with gentle structural grip, a sherbet freshness gives impact and an attractive energy before fading just a touch on the finish.

The 2020 Harry's Monster is an unusual blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. It offers up a muscular core of gravel, dried herb, boysenberry and spicy aromas that are strong and a little closed. Rivers of chiseled tannins follow, revealing powerful and unyielding blackberry and olive, with a firm herbal edge and touches of wintergreen. It's young and a little awkward right now but may come around.

Dry-farmed in the coastal hills of Marin, this gentle pinot noir offers crunchy cranberry and orange flavors, their brisk minty coolness spiked by some heat. Assuage the wine’s touch of bitter tannins with grass-fed beef. (100 cases)

The 2022 Chardonnay Yarra Valley offers up an engaging mix of grapefruit, pear and citrus aromas, with savory layers of nutty barrel ferment and spicy oak. It presents good volume of flavor in a creamy package, with chalky acidity adding energy and tighterning up the finish. This is good now but wull get better in time.

After shaking off a matchstick-reduction note, this wine reveals itself to be pillowy soft and tropical. Even so, its malic apple-skin acidity brings more than enough brightness to the table. Sovereign Wine Imports, Santa Rosa, CA

Scents of oak and dark berry compote give way to a plump and generous red, saturated with plum-skin flavor and rich fruit. It needs something big to pair with, like duck. (650 cases)

Nectarine, Asian pear and Meyer lemon peel converge for a pleasant, easygoing nose on this bottling. The palate snaps with citrus and apple flesh flavors, proving flavorful if a bit simple.

Baked peach and almond brittle aromas make for a toasty, warm entry to the nose of this bottling. The palate is waxy and viscous in texture, showing generous peach and lemon flavors.

This is a flush wine, sleek and soothing in its texture, with dark fruit flavors under scents of herb oil and smoke. It’s got a thick coat for something spicy, like roast pork with smoked paprika.

This smells like aging beef, its spice and cumin-like heat adding some burn in the end. Brown and spicy. (319 cases)

The 2022 Pinot Noir Yarra Valley is soft and approachable, with an array of fruits of the forest and damp earth aromas, and nice touches of hambone and rose petal. Fresh and vibrant, layers of soft berry and sour cherry flavors follow with a supple texture. Slightly hard herbal/stalky tones build on finish.

This herbal pinot is a bit sweet, but panelists appreciated the tension between the ripeness and tartness in the wine. One taster described the tannins are velvety but not overly polished, and suggested the wine would benefit from age. (3,135 cases).

This offers loads of savory complexity for the price, combining a scent of beeswax and sea wrack with flavors of beetroot and plum skin. Let it settle for a few months in the bottle.

High-toned cherry-skin flavors gain their lift from sprightly volatile acidity. That acidity bristles against an oaky bottom note, the wine a bit disjointed and need to settle into its structure. (259 cases)

Vanilla, spice and everything nice! This
is a classic spring option if ever there was
one. Enjoy every sip of this explosion of
tropical fruit and citrus that is perfectly
accentuated by both vanilla and just a
touch of baking spice.

Aromas of Rainier cherry, sea salt, and Bartlett pear precede a bright acidity that runs through the center of the palate. Flavors of apricot, lemongrass, and grapefruit rind lead to a long, lingering finish.

Elegant and layered, offering orange peel and baking spices around a suave cranberry and cherry core, with a sublayer of fresh acidity.

This cool-climate Sonoma Coast wine shows concentrated blackcurrant and blueberry flavors with hints of tobacco leaf and Mediterranean herbs. It’s relatively soft, with fine tannins that make it effortless to drink. Worth a splurge for a special evening.

The vineyards for this Merlot straddle Pine Mountain’s highest peak at a jaw-dropping 3,000 feet, Sonoma’s highest elevation. This savory wine offers a magnificent nose with loads of cinnamon heart candy and mulling spice aromas alongside black licorice, muddled raspberries, and ripe blackberries. The medium body has a textural mouthfeel, gritty tannins and a lengthy finish.

Offering bright red and dark berry aromas, this wine is juicy and precise, with complementing notes of coffee beans and matchsticks. The tannins are initially soft, slowly building to a suppleness that layers with keen acidity and stony minerality.

Well-knit and precise, with handsome raspberry and blueberry flavors that take on accents of dusky spices and crushed stone as this builds tension toward medium-grained tannins. Drink now through 2031. 425 cases made.

This bottling, formerly from a historic site in Santa Barbara County but now 75% from Monterey County, brings a lot to the table for a favorable price. Aromas of citrus sorbet and wet stone lead from the nose into a palate offering brisk apple, more citrus and high acidity.